On September 30, 2020, there were 17 new reported confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Australia. Australia's daily new confirmed coronavirus cases peaked on July 30 with 746 new cases on that day. This was considered to be the second wave of coronavirus infections in Australia, with the first wave peaking at the end of March at 460 cases before dropping to less than 20 cases per day throughout May and most of June.

 A second wave

Australia’s second wave of coronavirus found its epicenter in Melbourne, after over a month of recording low numbers of national daily cases. Despite being primarily focused within a single state, clusters of coronavirus cases in Victoria soon pushed the daily number of recorded cases over that of the first wave, with well over double the number of deaths. As a result, the Victorian Government once again increased lockdown measures to limit movement and social interaction. At the same time the other states and territories closed or restricted movement across borders, with some of the strictest border closures taking place in Western Australian.

 Is Australia entering into a recession?

After narrowly avoiding a recession during the global financial crisis, by September 2020 Australia had recorded two consecutive quarters of economic decline, hailing the country’s first recession since 1991. This did not necessarily come as a surprise for many Australians who had already witnessed a rising unemployment rate throughout the second quarter of 2020 alongside ongoing restrictions on retail and hospitality trading. However, thanks to welfare initiatives like JobKeeper and a government stimulus payment supplementing many household incomes, the economic situation could have been much worse at this point.

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic and rising cases of coronavirus in the community, the Australian state and federal governments implemented various lockdown measures and directives in order to limit the spread of the virus. Independently of these restrictions, many Australians also made changes to their lives and behaviors in order to mitigate the likelihood of contracting or spreading the virus. In May to June 2020, 94.5 percent of Australians who were surveyed on the household impacts of COVID-19 indicated that they had kept their distance from others. Social distancing behaviors were the most common behavioral changes made by Australians, with just over a quarter indicating that they had worn a facemask.

 Life under lockdown

Australia experienced its second spike in coronavirus cases in August 2020, with the majority of new daily cases concentrated in the state of Victoria. In response, Melbourne was placed under stage four lockdown and the rest of the state at stage 3. This significantly restricted the movement and social interactions of Victorians and included a nightly curfew in Melbourne. Despite these strict controls, most Victorians were accepting of the stage four lockdown measures. Although these restrictions continued to put a strain on the already struggling economic situation and the second quarter of 2020 witnessed a jump in unemployment rates.

 Travel restrictions

International visitors to Australia almost completely stopped in the months after Australia’s first case of COVID-19 in January 2020. This was partially due to the federal Government’s restrictions on international travel but many Australians independently chose to change or cancel travel plans. Separate to the Federal Government’s restrictions, most of the state and territory Governments also implemented boarder restrictions of their own, with Western Australia restricting all movement across its boarders.

PDB files of molecular dynamics structures of top drug repurposing candidates bound to the free fatty acid binding pocket of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein

The time it takes for the number of COVID-19 deaths to double varies by country. The doubling rate in the United States was 139 days as of December 13, 2020. In comparison, the number of confirmed deaths in Australia doubled from 450 to 908 in the space of 117 days between August 18 and December 13, 2020.

COVID-19: We are all in this together The commitment of civilians to follow basic hygiene measures and maintain social distancing must continue. The wellbeing of populations cannot be jeopardized, and young people must also engage in the response. In Australia, the 20- to 29-year-old age group accounts for the highest number of COVID-19 cases. With lockdown restrictions lifted, many people have returned to their regular routines and jumped back into socializing. However, there are concerns about complacency and suggestions that young adults could be driving spikes in coronavirus cases.

Receive coronavirus warnings on your smartphone It is of paramount importance that countries keep a vigilant eye on the spread of the coronavirus. One way of doing so is to invest in track and trace surveillance systems. Electronic tools are not essential, but many countries are using contact-tracing smartphone apps to make the tracking of cases more efficient. In June 2020, a contact-tracing app was rolled out across Japan, and it received nearly eight million downloads in the first month. A COVID-19 alert app was also launched in Canada at the end of July 2020. The smartphone software is initially being piloted in Ontario, but it will soon be possible for people in other provinces to use the app and report a diagnosis.

On March 10, 2023, the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center ceased its collecting and reporting of global COVID-19 data. For updated cases, deaths, and vaccine data please visit the following sources: World Health Organization (WHO)For more information, visit the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center.-- Esri COVID-19 Trend Report for 3-9-2023 --0 Countries have Emergent trend with more than 10 days of cases: (name : # of active cases) 41 Countries have Spreading trend with over 21 days in new cases curve tail: (name : # of active cases)Monaco : 13, Andorra : 25, Marshall Islands : 52, Kyrgyzstan : 79, Cuba : 82, Saint Lucia : 127, Cote d'Ivoire : 148, Albania : 155, Bosnia and Herzegovina : 172, Iceland : 196, Mali : 198, Suriname : 246, Botswana : 247, Barbados : 274, Dominican Republic : 304, Malta : 306, Venezuela : 334, Micronesia : 346, Uzbekistan : 356, Afghanistan : 371, Jamaica : 390, Latvia : 402, Mozambique : 406, Kosovo : 412, Azerbaijan : 427, Tunisia : 528, Armenia : 594, Kuwait : 716, Thailand : 746, Norway : 768, Croatia : 847, Honduras : 1002, Zimbabwe : 1067, Saudi Arabia : 1098, Bulgaria : 1148, Zambia : 1166, Panama : 1300, Uruguay : 1483, Kazakhstan : 1671, Paraguay : 2080, Ecuador : 53320 Countries may have Spreading trend with under 21 days in new cases curve tail: (name : # of active cases)61 Countries have Epidemic trend with over 21 days in new cases curve tail: (name : # of active cases)Liechtenstein : 48, San Marino : 111, Mauritius : 742, Estonia : 761, Trinidad and Tobago : 1296, Montenegro : 1486, Luxembourg : 1540, Qatar : 1541, Philippines : 1915, Ireland : 1946, Brunei : 2010, United Arab Emirates : 2013, Denmark : 2111, Sweden : 2149, Finland : 2154, Hungary : 2169, Lebanon : 2208, Bolivia : 2838, Colombia : 3250, Switzerland : 3321, Peru : 3328, Slovakia : 3556, Malaysia : 3608, Indonesia : 3793, Portugal : 4049, Cyprus : 4279, Argentina : 5050, Iran : 5135, Lithuania : 5323, Guatemala : 5516, Slovenia : 5689, South Africa : 6604, Georgia : 7938, Moldova : 8082, Israel : 8746, Bahrain : 8932, Netherlands : 9710, Romania : 12375, Costa Rica : 12625, Singapore : 13816, Serbia : 14093, Czechia : 14897, Spain : 17399, Ukraine : 19568, Canada : 24913, New Zealand : 25136, Belgium : 30599, Poland : 38894, Chile : 41055, Australia : 50192, Mexico : 65453, United Kingdom : 65697, France : 68318, Italy : 70391, Austria : 90483, Brazil : 134279, Korea - South : 209145, Russia : 214935, Germany : 257248, Japan : 361884, US : 6440500 Countries may have Epidemic trend with under 21 days in new cases curve tail: (name : # of active cases) 54 Countries have Controlled trend: (name : # of active cases)Palau : 3, Saint Kitts and Nevis : 4, Guinea-Bissau : 7, Cabo Verde : 8, Mongolia : 8, Benin : 9, Maldives : 10, Comoros : 10, Gambia : 12, Bhutan : 14, Cambodia : 14, Syria : 14, Seychelles : 15, Senegal : 16, Libya : 16, Laos : 17, Sri Lanka : 19, Congo (Brazzaville) : 19, Tonga : 21, Liberia : 24, Chad : 25, Fiji : 26, Nepal : 27, Togo : 30, Nicaragua : 32, Madagascar : 37, Sudan : 38, Papua New Guinea : 38, Belize : 59, Egypt : 60, Algeria : 64, Burma : 65, Ghana : 72, Haiti : 74, Eswatini : 75, Guyana : 79, Rwanda : 83, Uganda : 88, Kenya : 92, Burundi : 94, Angola : 98, Congo (Kinshasa) : 125, Morocco : 125, Bangladesh : 127, Tanzania : 128, Nigeria : 135, Malawi : 148, Ethiopia : 248, Vietnam : 269, Namibia : 422, Cameroon : 462, Pakistan : 660, India : 4290 41 Countries have End Stage trend: (name : # of active cases)Sao Tome and Principe : 1, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines : 2, Somalia : 2, Timor-Leste : 2, Kiribati : 8, Mauritania : 12, Oman : 14, Equatorial Guinea : 20, Guinea : 28, Burkina Faso : 32, North Macedonia : 351, Nauru : 479, Samoa : 554, China : 2897, Taiwan* : 249634 -- SPIKING OF NEW CASE COUNTS --20 countries are currently experiencing spikes in new confirmed cases:Armenia, Barbados, Belgium, Brunei, Chile, Costa Rica, Georgia, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Israel, Kuwait, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Mauritius, Portugal, Sweden, Ukraine, United Kingdom, Uzbekistan 20 countries experienced a spike in new confirmed cases 3 to 5 days ago: Argentina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, France, Korea - South, Lithuania, Mozambique, New Zealand, Panama, Poland, Qatar, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Switzerland, Trinidad and Tobago, United Arab Emirates 47 countries experienced a spike in new confirmed cases 5 to 14 days ago: Australia, Austria, Bahrain, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Congo (Kinshasa), Cyprus, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Finland, Germany, Guatemala, Honduras, Hungary, Iran, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Kazakhstan, Lebanon, Malta, Mexico, Micronesia, Moldova, Montenegro, Netherlands, Nigeria, Pakistan, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Russia, Saint Lucia, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, Suriname, Thailand, Tunisia, US, Uruguay, Zambia, Zimbabwe 194 countries experienced a spike in new confirmed cases over 14 days ago: Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Andorra, Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bahamas, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belarus, Belgium, Belize, Benin, Bhutan, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Brazil, Brunei, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Burma, Burundi, Cabo Verde, Cambodia, Cameroon, Canada, Central African Republic, Chad, Chile, China, Colombia, Comoros, Congo (Brazzaville), Congo (Kinshasa), Costa Rica, Cote d'Ivoire, Croatia, Cuba, Cyprus, Czechia, Denmark, Djibouti, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Estonia, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Fiji, Finland, France, Gabon, Gambia, Georgia, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Grenada, Guatemala, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Hungary, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kiribati, Korea - South, Kosovo, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Latvia, Lebanon, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, Mali, Malta, Marshall Islands, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mexico, Micronesia, Moldova, Monaco, Mongolia, Montenegro, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Nauru, Nepal, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, North Macedonia, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Palau, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Romania, Russia, Rwanda, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Samoa, San Marino, Sao Tome and Principe, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Serbia, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Solomon Islands, Somalia, South Africa, South Sudan, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Suriname, Sweden, Switzerland, Syria, Taiwan*, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Togo, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Turkey, Tuvalu, US, Uganda, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, Uruguay, Uzbekistan, Vanuatu, Venezuela, Vietnam, West Bank and Gaza, Yemen, Zambia, Zimbabwe Strongest spike in past two days was in US at 64,861 new cases.Strongest spike in past five days was in US at 64,861 new cases.Strongest spike in outbreak was 424 days ago in US at 1,354,505 new cases. Global Total Confirmed COVID-19 Case Rate of 8620.91 per 100,000Global Active Confirmed COVID-19 Case Rate of 37.24 per 100,000Global COVID-19 Mortality Rate of 87.69 per 100,000 21 countries with over 200 per 100,000 active cases.5 countries with over 500 per 100,000 active cases.3 countries with over 1,000 per 100,000 active cases.1 country with over 2,000 per 100,000 active cases.Nauru is worst at 4,354.54 per 100,000.

Clinical characteristics, vaccine history, and symptoms associtated with COVID-19 of infected persons and uninfected close exposures.

Final protein complex structure files (.pdb) for SARS-Cov-2 bound to ACE2 proteins from multiple species. Derived from molecular dynamics simulation of complexes after docking.

During the last measured quarter, users in Australia downloaded approximately *** million mobile gaming apps. Mobile gaming apps consistently reported the highest number of downloads in the examined period, reaching the peak of *** million during the second quarter of 2020. Between the first and the second quarter of 2020, the spike in app usage brought by the first COVID-19 outbreak affected all the examined app categories, with business apps reporting an increase in downloads of more than **** percent. Downloads for finance apps experienced a slow but constant increase, going from **** million during the first quarter of 2020 to almost eight million during the second quarter of 2021.

Estimated spike IgG levels post-vaccination.

Predictive accuracy for spike IgG > 300 AU/mL at 6 months and 8 months.

Protein-Protein, Genetic, and Chemical Interactions for Tree JA (2021):Unfractionated heparin inhibits live wild type SARS-CoV-2 cell infectivity at therapeutically relevant concentrations. curated by BioGRID (https://thebiogrid.org); ABSTRACT: Currently, there are no licensed vaccines and limited antivirals for the treatment of COVID-19. Heparin (delivered systemically) is currently used to treat anticoagulant anomalies in COVID-19 patients. Additionally, in the United Kingdom, Brazil and Australia, nebulised unfractionated heparin (UFH) is being trialled in COVID-19 patients as a potential treatment. A systematic comparison of the potential antiviral effect of various heparin preparations on live wild type SARS-CoV-2, in vitro, is needed.Seven different heparin preparations including UFH and low MW heparins (LMWH) of porcine or bovine origin were screened for antiviral activity against live SARS-CoV-2 (Australia/VIC01/2020) using a plaque inhibition assay with Vero E6 cells. Interaction of heparin with spike protein RBD was studied using differential scanning fluorimetry and the inhibition of RBD binding to human ACE2 protein using elisa assays was examined.All the UFH preparations had potent antiviral effects, with IC50 values ranging between 25 and 41 ?g·ml-1 , whereas LMWHs were less inhibitory by ~150-fold (IC50 range 3.4-7.8 mg·ml-1 ). Mechanistically, we observed that heparin binds and destabilizes the RBD protein and furthermore, we show heparin directly inhibits the binding of RBD to the human ACE2 protein receptor.This comparison of clinically relevant heparins shows that UFH has significantly stronger SARS-CoV-2 antiviral activity compared to LMWHs. UFH acts to directly inhibit binding of spike protein to the human ACE2 protein receptor. Overall, the data strongly support further clinical investigation of UFH as a potential treatment for patients with COVID-19.

In June 2023, the unemployment rate in Australia was 3.5 percent, lower than the pre-COVID-19 unemployment rate of around five percent. During 2020, the unemployment rate in Australia spiked to 7.6 percent amidst the country's second coronavirus wave.

Unemployment and underemployment rates around the country

In the middle of 2023, unemployment around the country hovered between 2.9 and 4.2 percent, with South Australia leading with the highest rate of people eligible to work jobs not currently employed. New South Wales, the country’s most populous state, reported the lowest rate of unemployment at the time. Underemployment, however, was highest in Tasmania, with the country reporting a national underemployment rate of over six percent in June 2023. Some of the leading difficulties people in Australia reported as barriers to finding a job or more hours included too many other applicants for available jobs, and a lack of necessary training, qualifications, or experience.

Leading industries for employment in Australia

Australia’s employment landscape is made up of a wide range of jobs; however, it is dominated by the services sector, which covers a range of industries, including healthcare, education, tourism, and professional services. Healthcare and social assistance remain the country’s leading employment industry, accounting for approximately 15 percent of employed persons. Employment industries varied between males and females , with the construction industry the most popular employment industry for males in 2022, while close to one-quarter of employed females worked in the healthcare and social assistance field.

Estimated elapsed time when spike IgG level declines below 300 AU/Ml.

Univariate and multivariate linear regression analysis for the association of log-transformed spike IgG titers at 6 months and that at 8 months.

Coinciding with the global coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the value of options traded on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) spiked in March 2020, reaching *** billion Australian dollars for the month. While the volume of options traded on the ASX also spiked this this month, it is notable that the spike in terms of value was much greater than in terms of volume. It is also notable that the overwhelming majority of the spike in this month came from call options - which enable the option holder to purchase a financial instrument (like shares) for an agreed price at a date in the future. By contrast, put options enable holders to sell a financial instrument at an agreed value in the future. This suggests that the increased value for this month was driven by investors trying to protect their position from the economic fallout of the pandemic. By May 2024, the total value of options traded on the ASX had fallen to around **** billion Australian dollars.